A couple of years into her Total World tour, the going is getting interesting for British soul singer Joss Stone. Her mission is to perform in every country in the world, and she just finished a run that let her check off Rwanda, the Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and several other African countries from the master list. Though she ticked off Canada back in 2015, she’s returning now for a handful of shows at jazz festivals in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Lynn Saxberg spoke to Stone from the singer’s home in Devon, U.K.

Q: What prompted you to tour so far off the beaten track?

A: There are different reasons why people tour, aren’t there? Some people tour to promote a record. Some people tour to make money. Some people tour because they want to have the experience of thousands of people screaming their name. For me, I just feel I want to spread good feelings as far and as wide as I possibly can, and also, selfishly, I want to see the world. I think music does this wonderful thing where it lets you communicate and connect with people that don’t speak your language, and live in an entirely different place and entirely different culture, and I find that kind of magical. It just lets people be free and happy and together. I realize as I get older, how amazing this little thing called music is.

Q: Why don’t more artists tour in some of these places?

A: People don’t go to every country because not every country pays. But, you know what, so? You just make it work. You go do some work, make some money and then you go with that money and it helps me do the rest of the world. The tour will take a long time, but that’s OK. I can meet some wonderful people and give them some joy, hopefully, for an hour or so, and I think that makes it worth it.

Q: Does it feel like the world needs that?

A: Of course it does. I do think it helps in times of need. And especially when the world is getting a bit mad and everyone is dealing with some source of sadness, and especially when there’s a lot of trauma and terror, it’s nice to just go, aaah, let’s come together and have a blast, shall we? Let’s do something that doesn’t matter for a minute. It’s just a little bit of fun to bring people together, and remind us that we are all linked.

Q: You’re collaborating with artists in each country, and recording a track. Is that material for your next record?

A: Oh, probably. We’ve got a massive backlog. But I don’t know if I’m going to do another record.

Q: Why not?

A: I don’t know if I can be bothered. It’s such funny thing. People think, you’re a singer, you’re going to put out records now until you die. And actually, I don’t know if I’m going to do that. I might not. I’m certainly not going to plan it three years in advance. I might go back to school, or I might sit and do my garden for a year.

Q: What would you study if you went back to school?

A: Probably some kind of science, or maybe midwifery or something like that. Maybe flower arranging. I just don’t really know.

Q: You just turned 30 in April. How does that feel?

A: It made me go, “Oh, my God, I don’t believe I’m 30.” You think you have to hurry up and have babies, and I haven’t really thought about doing that. I suppose I’ve done a good amount of things, which is nice. I didn’t waste my life, not yet anyway. That’s a good feeling.

Q: Your last record, Water For Your Soul, was a bit more groove-oriented, with a strong reggae vibe. Does it make for a lively show?

A: Yeah, it definitely can. It’s a fun thing. Reggae is a very healing type of vibe. You can’t really be mad if you’re listening to reggae music. It’s a very friendly sound.

Q: How do you like being on stage these days? Is it still the best part?

A: I do like being on stage. It’s a moment where you can play and be free and have a little laugh. Luckily, I’m not the type of artist who has to have choreography or anything like that. My show is not stressful. At all. There’s no track we have to worry about. Literally all we have to do is be good musicians.

Q: You don’t even worry about shoes, right?

A: No. I don’t bother with them. I don’t even have to worry about the dress, really, because luckily I’m not a fashionista. I’m just going to sing some songs and hope you like them.

Q: Now you’re returning to boring old Canada. What can we expect on this tour?

A: (Laughter) Canada is not boring, it’s amazing. I’m going to sing some songs from the old records because people like them. Then I’ll probably do some from the new record, I think they’re fun, and then, whatever. There are a few covers I like to do, and some acoustic tracks. It will be nice, hopefully, if I get it right.

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